Semi Career Change - Please help!

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Hi everyone!

I'm a semi-recent graduate and lost. I graduated with a degree in Health Administration and Policy (minor in Sociology) with a GPA of 3.0 from an honors college in the DC metro area. During and after college I started falling into a career towards health communication and then to digital communications. Although those fields are great, I just never felt I was fulfilling my full potential. I was always told I'd have the niche for nursing but never believed anyone until I truly felt unhappy sitting at my desk. I've worked in non-profit and for profit companies and neither have left me feeling I'm doing what I need to do in my life. From there I started talking to current nurses about their experiences and all that, even with pros and cons, I saw it as the perfect fit.

I've been doing my research, gathering information, creating folders to hold for different programs. I also have my semesters lined up with courses and exams I need to take while I'm still working full time along with a list of places I plan to volunteer to give me the exposure I need with the schedule I have. I plan to apply for Spring 2017 to properly build my application, take prereqs/exams, and strengthen basic work setting skills.

If anyone could, is this type of career change a norm to see in this industry? Am I taking the proper steps (I can go into detail if needed)? Is there anything I should consider while planning for this new career path?

I'm honestly anxious and nervous everything this could be a mistake, but when I see how unhappy I am at work and how happy I am when I study for my prereqs along with learning about basic nursing information... I feel content again.

*kudos for those who read and respond, i really appreciate it*

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi there! So from what you write, I don't know if I would call it the norm, but I would say that I definitely see it quite frequently. I myself changed from a career in BioTech to nursing, not because BioTech was such a terrible field, but because I was unhappy being cooped up behind a counter all day. The human aspect of nursing is often something that prompts people to change careers to it. I actually did an accelerated BSN program and, as you can imagine, it was full of people embarking on nursing as their second careers. I saw engineers, communications majors, those who had left medical school, teachers... all types of people!

From what you write, you are doing all the right things in preparation for starting this field. Research is key in terms of knowing what you are getting into, what types of things you will be dealing with in the workplace, how to go about fulfilling your prerequisites, how you will finance them, etc. It seems like you are doing all of this! Once you have come up with a solid plan, the next step would probably be to actually take your prerequisites and determine programs that you would seek to apply to based on your nursing GPA.

Best of luck!

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Hello!

I am literally in the same predicament as you! I too have a graduate degree in Health Care Administration and was not able to find jobs within that field that interested me. I settled for corporation or medical offices jobs that did not fulfill my passion of directly helping others. I only wished I went through the nursing route from the beginning instead of wasting so much time and $$$. However, life happens.... sigh... Now here I am at the age of 27 finally deciding what I want to do in life... but also like you, unsure...

I wrote a post not too long ago asking these same questions - whether or not this path will be the best for me or if I am just wasting time and money...? Instead of sitting around and contemplating - I took the first step in January and enrolled into Chemistry to see if I would be able to juggle a class in the evening while working full-time during the day... It has been quite the journey for me this semester, but very do-able per se (I have no kids, btw). I too have a list of classes lined up and I pray everyday someone drops so that I can enroll into it LOL.

If this is your calling, your true passion - it is not a mistake. The good thing about nursing is that you can work in a variety of fields. Anyway, you've already done your research, next step is to take your pre-reqs! A year from now, I hope to start applying for Fall 2018 or Spring 2019 programs - hopefully you can too :)

Good luck!!

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Okay thank you for your reply, I appreciate your words. Hearing truthful and encouraging words from someone in the field really helps. Do you have any suggestions on what I should be doing during the time I prepare my application and take prerequisites (ex. volunteering, certificates, etc.)?

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Honestly, thank you. It helps knowing someone is also going through this as well. I'm about to turn 25 and I do at times feel as if its too late (which is silly I know). What pushes me to pursue this route is the fact that I know I will regret it 15 years from now since I told myself several times I would attempt this route after graduation.

I will definitely keep your words in mind whenever I do lose hope and remember this is not a mistake.

Please keep me updated on your journey!

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